What is the science behind it?

For something that is still viewed as being pretty alternative, hypnotherapy actually has a very robust scientific framework. It can be so powerful that it has even been used as a natural form of anaesthesia!!

It has been shown by recent findings in neuroscience that when someone imagines something in a hypnotic state, similar areas of the brain are activated as when the person has that experience in reality. This shows that the brain doesn't completely distinguish between a richly imagined experience and a real one, so under hypnosis, imagination can be used to help create new, healthier patterns of thinking, feeling, and responding.

fMRi studies have shown 3 distinct brain changes that occur when people are hypnotised. The first is reduced activity in a part of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex. This is the brain’s alerting system for when there is something you ‘need’ to divert your attention for e.g. a loud noise. With activity here reduced, someone under hypnosis is much less distractible. The second change allows hyper-connectivity between the brain and the body and the third results in less activation of the default mode network, allowing you to effectively ‘switch off’ your normal assumptions about yourself, giving space for you to try out being a different person.

This cognitive flexibility is a crucial part of the hypnotic experience, allowing new, more adaptive brain pathways to emerge and be practised. With repetition, these new pathways will eventually replace the old dysfunctional ones, giving rise to lasting, positive changes.